Inditex facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A.

Headquarters in Arteixo, Spain
Trade name	Inditex
Type	Public
Traded as	BMAD: ITX IBEX 35
ISIN	ISIN: [https://isin.toolforge.org/?language=en&isin=ES0148396007 ES0148396007]
Industry	Retail
Predecessor	Confecciones GOA, S.A. GOASAM, S.A.
Founded	A Coruña, Galicia, Spain (12 June 1985; 40 years ago (1985-06-12))
Founders	Amancio Ortega Rosalía Mera
Headquarters	Arteixo, Galicia , Spain
Number of locations	5,563 stores
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Óscar García Maceiras (CEO) Marta Ortega (chairwoman)
Products	Clothing & fashion
Revenue	€38.63 billion (2024)
Operating income	€7.57 billion (2024)
Net income	€5.86 billion (2024)
Total assets	€34.71 billion (2024)
Total equity	€19.67 billion (2024)
Owner	Amancio Ortega (59%)
Number of employees	162,083 (2024)
Subsidiaries	Zara, Bershka, Pull&Bear, Massimo Dutti, Stradivarius, Oysho, Zara Home, Uterqüe, Lefties

Inditex, which stands for "Industria de Diseño Textil, S.A.", is a huge Spanish company that sells clothes. It's based in Arteixo, Spain. Inditex is known for being the world's largest "fast fashion" group. This means they can design, make, and sell new clothes very quickly.

The company has over 7,200 stores in 93 countries all around the world. Their most famous brand is Zara. But they also own many other popular clothing brands. These include Zara Home, Bershka, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Pull&Bear, Stradivarius, and Uterqüe. Most of their stores are owned by the company itself. Some stores are run by other businesses through a special agreement called a franchise.

Inditex's main goal is to react quickly to new fashion trends. They have a special system that lets them update products in stores very often. Sometimes, it takes as little as 15 days for a design to go from an idea to being sold in a store! This is much faster than many other fashion companies.

How Inditex Started and Grew

The Early Years: 1960s and 1970s

In the early 1960s, a man named Amancio Ortega started his own clothing business. He worked for a shirtmaker in A Coruña, Spain. Amancio and his wife, Rosalía Mera, began making clothes at home. He saved enough money to open a small factory. He sold clothes to his old boss and other customers.

In 1975, Amancio and Rosalía opened their first store. They called it Zara. This store sold popular fashion items at low prices. The next year, Zara became an official company. It started opening more stores and factories across Spain. Amancio also hired a professor, José María Castellano, to help the company use computers.

Growing Bigger: 1980 to 2000

In the 1980s, Inditex created a new way to design and deliver clothes. This system greatly reduced the time it took for clothes to go from design to store shelves. José María Castellano, who became the company's CEO in 1984, designed this system. In 1985, the company officially became "Industria de Diseño Textil S.A.", or Inditex. It became the main company for Zara and its factories.

In 1988, Inditex started to expand outside Spain. They opened a Zara store in Porto, Portugal. In 1990, they launched their own shoe collection called Tempe. In 1991, Inditex created Pull and Bear, a brand for casual menswear. They also bought a big part of the fancy Massimo Dutti brand. In 1993, Inditex started Lefties. This brand was created to sell older Zara clothes at lower prices.

By 1995, Inditex owned all of Massimo Dutti. They also started selling women's clothes under that brand. In 1998, Inditex launched Bershka, a brand for trendy, urban fashion. In 1999, they bought Stradivarius, which sells clothes for young women.

Becoming a Global Giant: 2001 to Today

In 2001, Inditex offered its shares to the public for the first time. This is called an initial public offering (IPO). They sold 26% of the company, and it was valued at €9 billion. In the same year, they opened Oysho, a store for lingerie and women's clothing.

In 2003, Inditex launched Zara Home. This brand sells things for your house, like bedding, dishes, and decorations. By 2004, Inditex had opened its 2,000th store in Hong Kong. This meant they had stores in 56 countries.

In 2005, Pablo Isla became the new CEO. In 2008, Inditex launched Uterqüe, a brand specializing in women's accessories. That same year, they opened their 4,000th store in Tokyo. By 2011, Inditex had stores in 77 countries across five continents. In 2019, Inditex became the biggest fashion retailer in the world based on how much money they made.

In 2020, the company's sales dropped because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, by April 2023, Inditex reported a 13% increase in sales. They also announced plans to open 200 new Lefties stores across Europe by 2026.

Where Inditex Stores Are Around the World

Inditex has stores in many countries. After opening in Portugal in 1988, they expanded to the U.S. in 1989 and France in 1990. They continued to open stores in places like Mexico (1992), Greece (1993), Belgium and Sweden (1994). By 1997, they were in Malta, Cyprus, Norway, and Israel.

In 1998, they expanded to the UK, Turkey, Argentina, Venezuela, the Middle East, and Japan. In 1999, stores opened in Canada, Germany, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and several South American countries.

In the 2000s, Inditex continued to grow. They opened stores in Italy, Luxembourg, and Jordan in 2001. In 2003, they reached Russia, Slovakia, and Malaysia. By 2006, they had stores in mainland China. In 2010, their 5,000th store opened in Rome, and their first store in India also opened. In 2011, they opened stores in Australia and South Africa. Their expansion continued to many other countries, including Serbia, North Macedonia, Armenia, Ecuador, Georgia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2012. In 2014, they opened stores in Albania. In 2016, Inditex planned to open stores in Vietnam, New Zealand, Paraguay, Aruba, and Nicaragua.

Shopping Online with Inditex

Inditex also sells its products online. In 2007, Zara Home launched its online store. Zara started selling clothes online in September 2010 in countries like Spain, the UK, Portugal, Italy, Germany, and France. By November 2010, Zara's online shopping was available in more countries, including Austria, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

In September 2011, Zara's online store came to the U.S. At the same time, other Inditex brands like Pull and Bear, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Stradivarius, Oysho, and Uterqüe also started selling online. By September 2018, Inditex announced that all its brands would be available online by 2020. This included places where they didn't even have physical stores.

How Inditex Advertises Its Brands

Inditex doesn't spend much money on magazine ads. They mostly use billboards in some areas, like the U.S., and displays inside their stores. Instead of paying for magazine ads, they often pay celebrities to wear their clothes.

The company invests a lot in choosing good locations for their stores. They also use creative window displays to make their stores stand out. This helps to attract customers and sell products quickly.

Inditex Brands

Inditex owns several different brands. Each brand offers different products and aims at different groups of people.

Who Owns Inditex

The largest owner of Inditex is its founder, Amancio Ortega, through his company Pontegadea Inversiones, S.L. He owns more than half of the company. Other large owners include different investment companies and his daughter, Sandra Ortega Mera.

Images for kids

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  Inditex logo

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  Inditex Headquarters in Arteixo, Spain

See also

In Spanish: Inditex para niños